HOUSTON, Texas (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF women’s basketball team closed out the regular season on a high note with a 59-50 win over Houston in the Fertitta Center on Monday night.
The Knights (24-5, 13-3 The American) held Houston (15-14, 9-7) to just four points in the first quarter and held a 10-point advantage, 14-4, after the first 10 minutes. The Cougars cut UCF’s lead to four, 16-12, but the Knights responded to take a 27-20 edge into halftime.
After Houston pulled within three, 35-32, at the 4:50 mark in the third quarter, the Knights outscored the Cougars 11-1 to take a 46-33 lead into the final frame. UCF pushed out to its largest advantage, 52-36, with 4:07 left in the fourth quarter, but a 7-0 spurt from Houston cut the lead to single digits, 52-43, with 2:23 left to play. The Cougars were able to get within six, 56-50, with 44 seconds remaining, but UCF hit clutch free throws down the stretch to come away with the victory.
Kay Kay Wright tallied her 14th 20-point performance of the season, scoring a game-high 21 points. Brittney Smith added a career-high nine points. Nyala Shuler and Masseny Kaba each had six rebounds. Lawriell Wilson dished out three assists and Diamond Battles grabbed a trio of steals.
Reaching More Milestones
- UCF’s 24 regular season victories officially marked the most in program history. The previous mark was set by the 1982-83 squad, who finished the regular season with 23 wins.
- For the third straight year, the Knights also improved their mark in the American Athletic Conference.
- The Black and Gold’s 13 conference wins are not only their most in The American, but it’s their most since the 2004-05 Atlantic Sun squad that went 16-4.
Everyone Stepped Up
- Ten Knights saw action, with nine of them scoring and eight collecting a rebound.
- Diamond Battles collected a game-high three steals, which tied her career best – which she set against the Cougars on Jan. 30.
- Brittney Smith scored a career-high nine points and registered a pair of blocks to push her season total to a team-leading 20.
Next up, UCF heads to the American Athletic Conference Championship. For the third consecutive year, the second-seeded Knights will have a first-round bye and will face the winner of No. 7 Tulsa – No. 10 Wichita State at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
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